Welcome to the Military history of Australia portal!
The military history of Australia spans the nation's 230-year modern history, from the early Australian frontier wars between Aboriginals and Europeans to the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 21st century. Although this history is short when compared to that of many other nations, Australia has been involved in numerous conflicts and wars, and war and military service have been significant influences on Australian society and national identity, including the Anzac spirit. The relationship between war and Australian society has also been shaped by the enduring themes of Australian strategic culture and the unique security challenges it faces.
The six British colonies in Australia participated in some of Britain's wars of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as a federated dominion and later as an independent nation, Australia fought in the First World War and Second World War, as well as in the wars in Korea, Malaya, Borneo and Vietnam during the Cold War. In the Post-Vietnam era Australian forces have been involved in numerous international peacekeeping missions, through the United Nations and other agencies, including in the Sinai, Persian Gulf, Rwanda, Somalia, East Timor and the Solomon Islands, as well as many overseas humanitarian relief operations, while more recently they have also fought as part of multi-lateral forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. In total, nearly 103,000 Australians died during these conflicts. (Full article...)
In the battle, Japanese land-based torpedo bombers, seeking to provide protection for the impending evacuation of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal, made several attacks over two days on U.S. warships operating as a task force south of Rennell Island. In addition to approaching Guadalcanal with the objective of engaging any Japanese ships that might come into range, the U.S. task force was protecting an Allied transport ship convoy carrying replacement troops there. (Full article...)
Described as a "small, dapper man", who was "outspoken, even 'cocky'", Hewitt overcame the setback to his career during the war and made his most significant contributions as Air Member for Personnel from 1945 to 1948. Directly responsible for the demobilisation of thousands of wartime staff and the consolidation of what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a much smaller peacetime service, he also helped modernise education and training within the RAAF. Hewitt was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1951, the same year he became Air Member for Supply and Equipment. Retiring from the military in 1956, he went into business and later managed his own publishing house. He wrote two books including Adversity in Success, a first-hand account of the South West Pacific air war, before his death in 1985 aged 84. (Full article...)
Image 3
Bill Newton, c. 1942
William Ellis Newton, VC (8 June 1919 – 29 March 1943) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to a member of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. He was honoured for his actions as a bomber pilot in Papua New Guinea during March 1943 when, despite intense anti-aircraft fire, he pressed home a series of attacks on the Salamaua Isthmus, the last of which saw him forced to ditch his aircraft in the sea. Newton was still officially posted as missing when the award was made in October 1943. It later emerged that he had been taken captive by the Japanese, and executed by beheading on 29 March.
William Joseph DennyMC (6 December 1872 – 2 May 1946) was an Australian journalist, lawyer, politician and decorated soldier who held the South Australian House of Assembly seats of West Adelaide from 1900 to 1902 and then Adelaide from 1902 to 1905 and again from 1906 to 1933. After an unsuccessful candidacy as a United Labor Party (ULP) member in 1899, he was elected as an "independent liberal" in a by-election in 1900. He was re-elected in 1902, but defeated in 1905. The following year, he was elected as a ULP candidate, and retained his seat for that party (the Australian Labor Party from 1917) until 1931. Along with the rest of the cabinet, he was ejected from the Australian Labor Party in 1931, and was a member of the Parliamentary Labor Party until his electoral defeat at the hands of a Lang Labor Party candidate in 1933.
Australian troops at Milne Bay in 1942, shortly after the battle
The Battle of Milne Bay (25 August – 7 September 1942), also known as Operation RE or the Battle of Rabi (ラビの戦い) by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Japanese marines, known as Kaigun Tokubetsu Rikusentai (Special Naval Landing Forces), with two small tanks attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on the eastern tip of New Guinea. Due to poor intelligence work, the Japanese miscalculated the size of the predominantly Australian garrison and, believing that the airfields were defended by only two or three companies, initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to one battalion on 25 August 1942. The Allies, forewarned by intelligence from Ultra, had heavily reinforced the garrison.
Despite suffering a significant setback at the outset, when part of their small invasion force had its landing craft destroyed by Royal Australian Air Force aircraft as they attempted to land on the coast behind the Australian defenders, the Japanese quickly pushed inland and began their advance towards the airfields. Heavy fighting followed as they encountered the Australian Militia troops that formed the first line of defence. These troops were steadily pushed back, but the Australians brought forward veteran Second Australian Imperial Force units that the Japanese had not expected. Allied air superiority helped tip the balance, providing close support to troops in combat and targeting Japanese logistics. Finding themselves heavily outnumbered, lacking supplies and suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese withdrew their forces, with fighting coming to an end on 7 September 1942. (Full article...)
Weir returned to Australia at his own request in late 1916 at the age of 50, and in 1917 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was mentioned in despatches for his performance at Pozières and Mouquet Farm. He went on to become the first South Australian Public Service Commissioner. He was given an honorary promotion to brigadier general on his retirement from the Australian Military Forces in 1921. Weir was retired as public service commissioner in 1931. In retirement he contributed to various benevolent and charitable organisations, and died in 1944. (Full article...)
Image 8
Captain Otto Becher on the bridge of HMAS Warramunga c. 1951
During the first decades of the 20th century, the Australian Government established the armed services as separate organisations, with each service having an independent chain of command. In 1976, the government made a strategic change and established the ADF to place the services under a single headquarters. Over time, the degree of integration has increased, and tri-service headquarters, logistics, and training institutions have supplanted many single-service establishments. The ADF has been deployed around the world in combat, peacekeeping and disaster-relief missions. (Full article...)
Image 10
Shout at Quinn's Post, Gallipoli, 7 June 1915
Alfred John Shout, VC,MC (8 August 1882 – 11 August 1915) was a New Zealand–born soldier and an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces. Shout was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions at Lone Pine in August 1915, during the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. After Ottoman forces had counterattacked and seized a large stretch of the Australians' front line, Shout gathered a small party of men and charged down one trench throwing bombs. He killed eight Turkish soldiers, and managed to clear others to retake the trench. In a similar action later that day, and supported by another officer, he recaptured further ground amid hard fighting. In the final push forward, Shout simultaneously lit three bombs to lob at the enemy. He successfully threw two, but just as the third left his hand it detonated. Shout was grievously wounded; he died two days later.
Born in Wellington, Shout had served in the Second Boer War as a teenager. He rose to sergeant and was mentioned in despatches for saving a wounded man before being discharged in 1902. He remained in South Africa for the next five years, serving as an artilleryman in the Cape Colonial Forces from 1903. With his Australian-born wife and their daughter, Shout immigrated to Sydney in 1907. The family settled in Darlington, where Shout worked for Resch's Brewery as a carpenter and joiner. He was also active in the part-time Citizens' Forces, being commissioned just prior to the outbreak of the First World War. In August 1914, he joined in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) for active service overseas and was appointed a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion. After training in Egypt, he took part in the Anzac landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. For his leadership during the invasion and its immediate aftermath, Shout was awarded the Military Cross and later mentioned in despatches. Shout's three gallantry awards at Gallipoli made him the most highly decorated member of the AIF for the campaign. (Full article...)
The Surafend massacre (Arabic: مجزرة صرفند) was a premeditated massacre committed against inhabitants of the village of Sarafand al-Amar (modern-day Tzrifin) and a Bedouin camp in Palestine by occupying Australian, New Zealand and Scottish soldiers on 10 December 1918. Occurring at the conclusion of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of World War I, Allied occupational forces in the region, in particular Australian and New Zealand troops, gradually grew frustrated over being subject to petty theft and occasional murders by local Arabs without redress.
On the night of 9 December, a New Zealand soldier was killed by an Arab thief who had stolen his kitbag. In response, troops of the ANZAC Mounted Division, as well as a small number of Scottish soldiers, surrounded Sarafand al-Amar and demanded the village's leaders hand over the thief. When they denied knowledge of the murder, the soldiers deliberated on their course of action before eventually deciding to attack the village, killing approximately 40-137 male villagers, with the only body count being 137 while others who did not count the bodies stated it was as low as 40. The massacre caused a significant rift between the Division and its Commander-in-Chief, Sir Edmund Allenby. (Full article...)
The Armidale class is a class of patrol boats built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Planning for a class of vessels to replace the fifteen Fremantle-class patrol boats began in 1993 as a joint project with the Royal Malaysian Navy, but was cancelled when Malaysia pulled out of the process. The project was reopened in 1999 under the designation SEA 1444, with the RAN as the sole participant. Of the seven proposals tendered, the Austal/Defence Maritime Services (DMS) proposal for twelve vessels based on an enlarged Bay-class patrol boat was selected. Two additional boats were ordered in 2005 to provide a dedicated patrol force for the North West Shelf Venture.
Japan's geography made this invasion plan obvious to the Japanese as well; they were able to accurately predict the Allied invasion plans and thus adjust their defensive plan, Operation Ketsugō (ja), accordingly. The Japanese planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū, with little left in reserve for any subsequent defense operations. Casualty predictions varied widely, but were extremely high. Depending on the degree to which Japanese civilians would have resisted the invasion, estimates ran up into the millions for Allied casualties. (Full article...)
Image 5
HMAS Ballarat in 2016.
The Anzac class (also identified as the ANZAC class and the MEKO 200 ANZ type) is a ship class of ten frigates; eight operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and two operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN). During the 1980s, the RAN began plans to replace the River-class destroyer escorts (based on the British Leander class frigate) with a mid-capability patrol frigate and settled on the idea of modifying a proven German design for Australian conditions. Around the same time, the RNZN was seeking to replace their Leander-class frigates while maintaining blue-water capabilities. A souring of relations between New Zealand and the United States of America in relation to New Zealand's nuclear-free zone and the ANZUS security treaty prompted New Zealand to seek improved ties with other nations, particularly Australia. As both nations were seeking warships of similar capabilities, the decision was made in 1987 to collaborate on their acquisition. The project name (and later, the class name) is taken from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps of the First World War.
Twelve ship designs were tendered in 1986. By 1989, the project had selected a proposal by Germany's Blohm + Voss, based on their MEKO 200 design, to be built in Australia by AMECON at Williamstown, Victoria. The modular design of the frigates allowed sections to be constructed at Whangarei, New Zealand and Newcastle, New South Wales in addition to Williamstown. The RAN ordered eight ships, while the RNZN ordered two and had the option to add two more. The frigate acquisition was controversial and widely opposed in New Zealand, and as a result, the additional ships were not ordered. (Full article...)
Fort Lytton National Park is a national park in Lytton, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Its main attraction is Fort Lytton Historic Military Precinct, providing guided tours of historic Fort Lytton, a museum and re-enactments. The park was created in 1990 as Queensland's first historic national park. It initially contained only heritage-listed Fort Lytton, a colonial coastal fort that continued to operate as a military base until after the Second World War. The park was extended in 1999 to include Lytton Quarantine Station which occupied adjacent land. The Quarantine Station is also heritage-listed, but is only open to the public on special occasions.
Transportation of infantry, incorporating full protection from small arms fire, was the primary role for which the Bushmaster was designed; infantry would dismount from the vehicle, before going into action. As it was lightly armoured, the term infantry mobility vehicle (IMV) was initially used, rather than armoured personnel carrier, to distinguish the Bushmaster from heavier wheeled and tracked APCs used by the Australian Army, such as the ASLAV and M113. It was later discovered that the high-hardness steel specified for the Bushmaster meant that it generally offered better protection against ballistic weapons and IEDs than the aluminium alloys used in ASLAVs and M113s. To reflect this capability, it was later redesignated a "Protected Mobility Vehicle" (PMV). (Full article...)
Image 10
The above map shows how the network of fortresses defended the approaches to Hobart. The shaded white areas show the effective range of the fort's gun positions.
The Hobart coastal defences are a network of now defunct coastal batteries, some of which are inter-linked with tunnels, that were designed and built by British colonial authorities in the nineteenth century to protect the city of Hobart, Tasmania, from attack by enemy warships. During the nineteenth century, the port of Hobart Town was a vital re-supply stop for international shipping and trade, and therefore a major freight hub for the British Empire. As such, it was considered vital that the colony be protected. In all, between 1804 and 1942 there were 12 permanent defensive positions constructed in the Hobart region.
Prior to Australian Federation, the island of Tasmania was a colony of the British Empire, and as such was often at war with Britain's enemies and European rivals, such as France and later Russia. The British had already established the colony of Sydney at Port Jackson in New South Wales in 1788, but soon began to consider the island of Tasmania as the potential site of a useful second colony. It was an island, cut off from the mainland of Australia and isolated geographically, making it ideal for a penal colony, and was rich in timber, a resource useful to the Royal Navy. In 1803, the British authorities decided to colonise Tasmania, and to establish a permanent settlement on the island that was at the time known as Van Diemen's Land, primarily to prevent the French from doing so. During this period tensions between Great Britain and France remained high. The two nations had been fighting the French Revolutionary Wars with each other through much of the 1790s, and would soon be engaging each other again in the Napoleonic Wars. (Full article...)
The Battle of France (French: bataille de France; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (German: Westfeldzug), the French Campaign (Frankreichfeldzug, campagne de France) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War, was the German invasion of France, that notably introduced tactics that are still used. France and the Low Countries were conquered, ending land operations on the Western Front until the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.
The assault position was directly south of the boundary between the British Fifth and Second Armies. The Canadian Corps was to attack with support of formations from the British Fifth Army to the north and the I Anzac Corps and X Corps to the south. The offensive was executed in a series of attacks with limited objectives, delivered at intervals of three or more days. The dates of the phases were tentatively given as 26 October, 30 October and 6 November with a final smaller action on 10 November. To permit time for divisional reliefs, there was a seven-day pause planned between the second and third stages, during which the Second Army took over the XVIII Corps area, north of the Canadian Corps, from the Fifth Army with the II Corps on 2 November, to assure unity of command over the central part of the attack front. (Full article...)
Image 5
Undated portrait of Nigel Cullen
Richard Nigel Cullen, DFC (5 June 1917 – 4 March 1941) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II. Serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF), he was credited with as many as sixteen aerial victories before being killed in action during the Battle of Greece. Born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Cullen was living in London and had already seen action in the Spanish Civil War when he joined the RAF in 1937. Following the outbreak of World War II, he served initially as a transport pilot with No. 267 Squadron in the Middle East before seeking reassignment to fighters. He was then posted to No. 80 Squadron, flying Gloster Gladiator biplanes, and claimed six Axis aircraft before the unit converted to Hawker Hurricanes. Nicknamed "Ape" due to his physical bulk, Cullen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for destroying five enemy aircraft in a single sortie on 28 February 1941. He was credited with another four victories in the one engagement on 3 March; the next day, he was shot down and killed while on escort duty over Albania, by a Regia AeronauticaFiat G.50bis, at age twenty-three. (Full article...)
RAAF Station Bundaberg, home of No. 8 Service Flying Training School, photographed from an Avro Anson in 1944
No. 8 Service Flying Training School (No. 8 SFTS) was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) that operated during World War II. It was formed in December 1941, and graduated its first course in March 1942. Responsible for intermediate and advanced instruction of pilots under the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), the school was based at RAAF Station Bundaberg, Queensland, and operated Avro Anson aircraft. It spawned two maritime patrol squadrons in early 1943, raised in response to increased Japanese submarine activity off Australia's east coast. Some of the school's aircraft were also attached to the Australian Army in 1944–45. No. 8 SFTS completed its final training course in December 1944, and was disbanded in July 1945. (Full article...)
Image 8
Canberra Mk.20 flown by No. 1 Operational Conversion Unit in 1970–71 following service in the Vietnam War, now on display at RAAF Base Wagga, New South Wales.
No. 1 Operational Conversion Unit (No. 1 OCU) was an operational training unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Formed in January 1959 at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, its role was to convert pilots and navigators to the English Electric Canberra bombers flown by Nos. 1, 2 and 6 Squadrons. The unit's complement of Canberras included T.4 and Mk.21 dual-control trainers, and Mk.20 bombers. Originally a component of No. 82 Wing, No. 1 OCU became an independent unit at Amberley in April 1968, its focus being the provision of operationally ready pilots for service with No. 2 Squadron in the Vietnam War. No. 1 OCU was disbanded in June 1971, following the withdrawal of No. 2 Squadron from South-East Asia. By then the RAAF's only Canberra unit, No. 2 Squadron ran its own conversion courses before disbanding in 1982. (Full article...)
Image 9
Australian troops withdraw from Ratsua on to the Soraken Peninsula following the end of hostilities, August 1945
The fighting occurred following a failed landing by Australian forces at Porton Plantation in early June, which was part of an attempt to outflank a series of strong points that the Japanese had built across the base of the Bonis Peninsula. After this, the fighting in the northern sector around Ratsua essentially became a containment action for the Australians as they concentrated their efforts and resources upon driving south towards Buin, which was the main centre of Japanese resistance on the island at the time. As a result, the situation around Ratsua remained largely static until the end of hostilities in mid-August 1945. (Full article...)
Image 10
Beaufort crew of No. 7 Squadron, which operated under the control of No. 75 Wing in 1943–44
Image 5Australian sailors take possession of a midget submarine at a Japanese naval base near Tokyo in September 1945. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
Image 25Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division to service overseas. They include George Alan Vasey's wife Jessie Vasey (second from the left). The photograph is especially poignant because Vasey did not survive the war. (from Military history of Australia during World War II)
Image 40The light cruiser HMAS Hobart showing torpedo damage inflicted by a Japanese submarine on 20 July 1943. Hobart did not return to service until December 1944. (from History of the Royal Australian Navy)
In view of the result of attained at the Washington Treaty which, my advisors believe, guarantee peace in the Pacific for some time to come, it is proposed to reduce the establishment of the navy and army, and postpone the expansion of the air force.